


All's Fair In Love and Bevs

by iamtheoneinthehole



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-20
Updated: 2014-03-20
Packaged: 2018-01-16 10:20:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1343935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamtheoneinthehole/pseuds/iamtheoneinthehole
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompted by anotherdregsblog; Hi. I really like the language of your fics and I'd like to promt you if you wouldn't mind. AH-OT6 pre-relationship with Gavin not at all handling being attracted to the five men he works with. He has to get drunk to talk to them when they're out of the office (and rarely when he's in the office too) to the point where Ray doesn't want to be around him anymore until Gavin confesses to him why he does it. Thanks! -Dregs</p>
<p>It’d all started out pretty harmlessly during one of Geoff’s ‘game nights’…</p>
            </blockquote>





	All's Fair In Love and Bevs

**Author's Note:**

> This was a really great prompt to write so thanks for that Dregs :) I just hope I've managed to do it the justice it deserves!

It’d all started out pretty harmlessly during one of Geoff’s ‘game nights’ when they’d all been playing Peggle and. Gavin had been watching intently as their host played, his eyes briefly flickering over from the screen to the man playing the game when he'd suddenly noticed how the light blaring out from the game they were playing seemed to frame Geoff’s features in a certain way the made his features slightly sharper and gave his eyes a glint that the Brit had found strangely mesmerizing… mesmerizing that was for all of the five seconds before he’d realized he was gazing wistfully into his flatmates eyes (like something out of one of those bloody awful romance novels that his first girlfriend had made him read to her, back when they were dating) and had quickly looked away before any of the guys noticed and started teasing him about it. Thankfully, none of them had seemed to, all of them too caught up in cheering Geoff on (or critiquing the plays he was making in some cases) to notice as the Brit started to have an internal crisis because whatever it was that’d made him notice that bloody glint in Geoff’s eyes was only getting worse as he found himself noticing little things like the cute little expressions the man made when he was trying to concentrate and… wait did he really just think of Geoff as cute?

And so he’d turned his attention to Ryan instead, hoping to find some reprieve from the revelation that he might have a serious thing for the man that he was living with… and wouldn't that make things unnecessarily awkward since, last time Gavin checked, the man was hopelessly straight and even more hopelessly out of his league. Gavin’s sexuality had always been a little more fluid than that and while he’d never necessarily slammed a label on it, it wasn't exactly a surprise to him that he was able to find men attractive just as much as women… it was more of a surprise which man it’d been than anything really (since he'd always figured he'd probably go for Monty if he suddenly developed a thing for a guy given the way he flirted with him sometimes when he'd had a little too much to drink around the man).

For a few moments, it seemed like he’d made the right choice switching his focus to Ryan, but then the man had turned to ask him something and Gavin had found himself distracted by his voice and then by the way the man’s brow crinkled a little in concern when Gavin failed to give a response.

He’d blinked a little, offering a ‘Sorry what?’ That managed to produce a chuckle from the man in response and Gavin found himself caught up for a moment in the rich cadence of that laugh before he’d shaken himself, managing to actually register and answer Ryan’s question this time before moving his attention over to the couch Jack and Michael were sat on.

As it turned out, that had also been a terrible mistake because within seconds he was noticing how facial hair really suited Jack and how had he not noticed that before or how Michael got all kinds of ridiculously hot when he got that intense look of concentration in his eyes that he had right now as he watched Geoff play...

And then his gaze had finally landed on Ray and, after one moment of registering the man’s smile only to find it ‘adorable’, he knew he was fucked. Worst part was he was stone cold sober so he couldn't even blame it on having one too many bevs. Fact was, Gavin Free had just had a revelation that ‘holy shit his coworkers were hot and he might have a thing for all of them’, and honestly he wasn't really sure what to do with that sudden knowledge he’d gained. Because maybe he’d liked them for a while now without realizing but now that he did? He felt the all too familiar feelings of doubt and uncertainty creep in, the way they always did when it came to things like this. Because where feelings of the romantic variety were involved, Gavin had a list of insecurities about as tall as Geoff’s House in Achievement City (something he could thank that same first girlfriend for after the way things had ended between them)... It was too much to deal with right now, especially during Geoff’s game nights when all of the men he’d just had this revelation about were sitting right there…

So when Geoff had offered him a bev a few seconds later, he’d quickly accepted it, downing it in almost record time and choking a little in the process to the amused laughter of the others, a few ‘idiots’ and ‘dumbasses’ tossed about as Gavin managed to clear the bev out from where it’d caught in his throat. The laughter had died down pretty quickly though when he’d then gone ahead and grabbed another one.

“...You okay there Gav?”

“I’m fine just… long day you know?”

“Okay well... just take it easy yeah? Leave some for the rest of us.” Geoff’s tone was teasing but Gavin could see the concern in his gaze so he’d quickly nodded his agreement, relieved when Geoff seemed satisfied with this response. The man had then returned to the game, only to let off a string of cusses a few moments later as his ball completely missed the pegs he’d been aiming for, Michael and Jack both chipping in with their advice as Ryan and Ray had laughed a little at the gent’s expense.

No one had seemed to notice when Gavin managed to down his third bev. And by the time he snuck his forth and fifth… well they were all too caught up in the game to care anyway.

\----

After the fifth bev, it’d been a rapid downward spiral from there as he’d continued to sneak and down as many drinks as he could, the boys eventually starting to help him once they’d realized they had a drunk Gavin on their hands (because apparently the comedic value of seeing him drunk, at some point, had overruled any concerns they’d had at the beginning of the night… it’d probably had that most of them, excluding Ray, had downed a few themselves by this point). He knew Ray or Michael had taken a video of him dancing at some point, he knew at one point he’d started musing about eyebrows being mustaches for eyes, or 'eyestaches'... and that shortly after that Geoff had cut him off, but by then he’d been drunk enough not to care as he happened to distantly note the way the warmth in Geoff’s voice made something flutter a little in his chest.

But now it was the morning after and as he woke up with a thudding head and call from the next room from Geoff to ‘get up asshole’ he was starting to regret some of the life choices that’d brought him to this point. He’d forced himself out of bed though, throwing on some random clothes and splashing some water in his face in the hopes that it’d help him freshen up a little… it hadn't really helped that much but it’d been worth a try. After that he’d quickly donned some sunglasses (much to Geoff’s amusement when he’d seen them) before heading towards the kitchen area of their flat in search of the breakfast Geoff had started to cook them which, right now, smelled bloody top.

\----

When he’d arrived at work later that day he’d, naturally, been subjected to numerous jokes and comments about his ‘douchey’ sunglasses indoors look as well as some ribbing about just how drunk he’d gotten the night before but, eventually, the teasing had wound down a little and Gavin had managed to get to work on editing a video he owed Geoff, even as he fought to concentrate against the dull thudding ache pounding at the back of his skull.

He’d gotten about halfway through the edit when he’d felt Michael’s foot nudge the edge of his chair. He slipped off his headphones, spinning to face the lad as he asked Gavin whether he was still up for ‘swimmy bevs’ tonight given how much he’d drunk the night before and how dead on his feet he seemed right now… Which had naturally sent Gavin into an internal state of panic given that he’d completely forgotten that they’d made those plans until now and spending prolonged periods of time around the redhead, and without the buffers of work and coworkers as a distraction, didn't exactly sound like the best idea for him right now given the fact that he was still trying to come to terms with the revelations he’d had last night and what said revelations actually meant for his relationships with his coworkers. And given that it’d taken a good few seconds for Michael’s words to register, the Brit a little distracted for a moment by the amused glint dancing in the man’s eyes (and really, what was it with him getting caught up in his coworkers eyes lately?), he was increasingly getting the feeling that his sudden interest his fellow Achievement Hunters ran a little deeper than just a base level attraction to them… Which only made him want to run away and avoid the issue that much more.

But of course he couldn't just drop out of their plans, he didn't want to alert Michael to the fact that he was having these thoughts after all, especially when it was Gavin’s own damn fault for having this bloody revelation in the first place… So he’d quickly pasted on a smile, offering an ‘of course Micoo, I’d never miss out on our swimmy bevs’ and receiving a genuine smile from the man in response (that Gavin couldn't help but return, in despite the circumstances) as he’d nodded and turned back to his screen where he seemed to be editing the latest rage quit (based on the muffled screaming he could hear coming from the man’s head phones every few minutes). It was a good five minutes before Gavin managed to follow suit, turning back to his own editing and trying to push the image of that smile Michael had given him out of his mind (since that smile seemed to make the unnamed feelings, the ones that Gavin honestly didn’t want to put a bloody name to, surge up whenever he thought about it. It was all kinds of distracting and right now he needed to focus on this edit, he could have his bloody emotional meltdown later).

At least it was swimmy bevs and not something else. Because this way, he might be able to use the bevs part of that equation to act as a buffer for the feelings he suddenly seemed to be discovering he had for the man. And maybe, just maybe, that’d be enough to carry himself through the night without him giving into the urge to run away or blurt out something dumb that’d give away his inner emotional turmoil, and probably reveal a few things that Gavin wasn’t ready to accept because he was not half way to in bloody love with his coworkers... He wasn’t!

And so later he’d shown up at the pool with extra bevs that’d earned a bemused grin from Michael when he’d seen just how much the Brit had brought with him. He hadn’t made any real comments about it though, nor about the fact that there was the obvious scent of alcohol already on Gavin’s breath when he’d arrived, and the two had settled in to their usual pattern of ‘swimmy bevs’ with relative ease... But as the evening wore on, he did notice the growingly concerned looks Michael shot him as he got progressively more drunk and Gavin was pretty sure the redhead had tried to cut him off at one point… But then Gavin had pouted, and pleaded with him, and called Michael his ‘boi’ and he’d seemed to relent a little, albeit reluctantly, but at the time Gavin had been too drunk to really notice the man’s hesitation as he handed over another bev, nor the concerned frown that marred the redhead’s features when he accepted it moments later with a wide grin before downing it in seconds.

Once again, the bevs had got him through the night without incident and so the relapse of teasing about his douchey new look the next day when he was, once again, forced to wear sunglasses into work was worth it…

\----

After that, it’d become a regular thing. Whenever Gavin had to go out with any of the boys, he’d have a few bevs beforehand, a few more while they were out, and at least one more back at his and Geoff’s flat before he went to bed at night. At first Geoff had made jokes about being ‘proud’ of the Brit since it seemed he’d begun to ‘embrace the Ramsey legacy’... but jokes had quickly died down to concerned looks as Gavin’s drinking got progressively worse, to the point that he had to have at least one bev to get through breakfast with Geoff in the morning (because the man’s bedhead was all kinds of adorable and the more he noticed that and other things about the men in his life, the worse these feelings he was developing for them got and the more he wanted to run from those feelings as a result of that).

At one point Geoff had tried to get Gavin to pull back a little, joining him on his one bev night a week strategy and, for a little while, he’d tried it. He really had. He’d even managed to hold off drinking outside of that bev night for a good two and a half weeks… but then Ryan had wandered in one day wearing a shirt that was just the right side of tight on him and the Brit had been rushing to the secret stash of bevs he kept hidden in the rt break room before he’d even had the chance to think about it.

And after that? He’d never really managed to get back on the horse because the day after that, Michael was wearing his beanie, the day after that one Jack had a shirt on that really brought out his eyes… and so it’d become a vicious cycle, a downward spiral as he’d started having ‘Irish’ coffees in the break room, or taking shots with lunch if he went out with one of the lads or gents. And on the worst days, where all he could think about was pulling one of them into his arms and kissing them, consequences be damned, he’d sometimes end up drinking so much he couldn’t go into work.

He knew people were worried about him. Burnie, Barb, Lindsay, Caleb... his boys especially. He’d seen them talking in hushed voices before he’d walk into a room only to quickly change the subject when he’d enter it and he knew they were talking about him but… all the same, he couldn’t bring himself to stop. It was his way of coping with the fact that he now knew he was at least halfway to in love with the five men he worked with who were so completely and utterly out of his league and Gavin knew there were probably much better, healthier ways of coping than this but… he’d gotten himself caught up in this cycle now and even when he tried his hardest to, he could never quite bring himself to break free of it.

And so it’d continued to get worse, and Gavin’s work started to suffer from it, to the point where Burnie had been forced to take him to one side and tell him that, as much as he hated to say it, if Gavin didn’t get his act together a little then they’d have to start pulling him back from some of the projects he was involved with at Roosterteeth… and the Let’s Plays had been the first thing he’d mentioned on that list.

That talk had been a little sobering really (literally as it turned out) and Gavin had made a real effort to pull back from drinking at work, no matter how tough it got to be around the men he worked with (and was now almost 99% sure he was completely and hopelessly in love with, despite his best efforts to prevent his feelings from becoming any more deep seated than they already were). He’d told Burnie where he’d been keeping his secret bevs stash and didn’t make any efforts to replace them once the man had disposed of them and the quality of the videos he was producing suddenly skyrocketed.

After that, things had started to look up a little for him around the office and he could tell his coworkers were relieved to see him sober and actually functional when it came to doing his job (since he was pretty sure a lot of them had been waiting for the moment where Gavin would push Matt or Burnie too far with his habits and end up suddenly out of a job), and maybe that was why he never really got confronted about the fact that, out of the office, his drinking habits hadn’t changed one bit… If anything, they’d gotten worse to make up for the time he lost at the office…

And it’d continued like that until one night, at another of Geoff’s game nights, Gavin had reached over to grab his sixth (or maybe his seventh) bev when suddenly Ray’s hand had been there, catching his arm and pulling it away from the beers as he’d met the Brit’s gaze with something that wasn’t quite anger, but was definitely pretty close to it, burning in his eyes. “I think you’ve had enough Vav.”

“You can never have enough bevs X-Ray-”

“No _you_ can never have enough of them, especially when you’re around us. You think we haven’t noticed the way you always drink to get drunk when you’re with us these days? We have and we’ve asked around so we know its just when you're with us. And honestly Vav... I don’t really know what we did to deserve that.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about X-Ray.” He offered after a moment trying, probably not at all convincingly, to play the fool even as the younger man stared him down with a look that told him he wasn’t buying any of his bullshit anytime soon.

“Yes you do. And if you won’t tell us what’s wrong so we can fix it, at least do us the favor of trying to pretend like you don’t want to be anywhere but here. Because you know what Gavin? It fucking sucks to have someone you care about begin shut you out like this.”

The words had sent a stab of guilt coursing through him but he battled it down, knowing that it might ‘suck’ for the guys to have to deal with a drunk Gavin but it was better than the alternative, for all of them… And, almost on instinct, that thought had made him reach for another bev, only realizing his mistake a few seconds too late when something in Ray’s gaze had darkened and yep, now it was definitely anger burning in the younger man’s gaze.

After that, there’d been a fight of epic proportions, and screaming on both sides (and Gavin had honestly lost track of half the things he’d said to the man) until Ray had finally stormed out, Michael following moments later to make sure the lad was okay. Meanwhile Gavin had gathered up his remaining bevs and had made an attempt to go and lock himself away in his room with them before Ryan had caught his arm and he and Jack had managed to relinquish Gavin of the bevs whilst Geoff just looked at him with something that was far too similar to a weary sort of disappointment and suddenly the Brit had a lump in his throat that he couldn’t shift, no matter how hard he tried…

The moment Ryan had let him go, he’d bolted to the safety of his room, locking the door behind him before curling up on the mattress as he tried to shut out the concerned voices on the other side of it and the rising guilt that he was pretty sure there wasn’t enough bevs in the world to drink away.

\----

He and Ray hadn’t spoken for two weeks after that. Barely any of them had actually, outside of videos and the ‘wake up idiot’s he’d get from Geoff every morning. And he could see they were pulling back, more and more as time went on, as they stopped inviting him out for drinks or meals or lunch with the rest of them. They’d even started hosting game nights at Jack’s just to avoid him… and honestly, Gavin couldn’t blame them. Because he’d finally pushed them all too far with this drinking thing and now they couldn’t deal with it anymore.He’d pushed them away, just like he always pushed people away when he got to this sort of stage in his emotions, because it was far easier to run than to let those people in who could make or break him with just a few little words...

But, honestly, Gavin couldn’t quite escape the notion that he’d already been broken. He’d broken himself in the process of trying to keep his distance from Geoff, Jack, Ryan, Michael, Ray… he had that distance now, he’d gotten what he’d wanted… and it hadn’t been bloody worth it. Worst part was he couldn’t drink away the pain, couldn’t even bring himself to try because all he’d see whenever he tried to pick up a bev right now was the hopeless, defeated, look that’d been on Ray’s face just seconds before the man had stormed out of his and Geoff’s apartment. And so, for the first time in what was probably months, Gavin Free made it through a whole day stone cold sober. And the next one. And the one after that.

No one seemed to notice.

He guessed they must’ve all stopped noticing things about him a long time ago now for fear of what they’d find if they did. For fear of finding him drunk out of his mind again with no good excuse, no explanation and apparently no regard for the people around him who’d been hurting all this time. Because he’d seen the pain in the men’s eyes that night that Ray had confronted him and the unbearable truth of the matter was he’d put it there.

He still didn’t drink to forget that though. His eyes had finally been opened to the damage he’d been doing all this time and it was enough to make him never want to touch another bev in his whole bloody life. Too bad really that he’d realized all this too little too late…

He’d kept it professional though, kept making videos with the lads and gents, kept pretending everything was fine for as long as they were recording, kept pretending a little piece of him didn’t shrivel up and die inside every time he’d watch them go for lunch together or just sit and talk and leave Gavin out of their conversations and it hurt, it hurt so damn much but he deserved it so he didn’t speak up about it and he didn’t complain and he did his bloody job. He’d brought this on himself, now he had to deal with it…

And he had been dealing with it, or so he thought, until he’d ended up having one of those days at the office where everything went wrong. His desk had another hole in it, his footage had gone missing for their last Let’s Play and the progress he’d been making on his newest edit had all been erased when his system had crashed somehow. And it was the little things that’d tipped him over the edge, leading to an emotional meltdown in the middle of the meeting room (thankfully just in front of Barb and Burnie since they’d been about to film some vines in there). They’d both been amazingly good to him, not asking questions until he was ready to answer them, not prying for details, but just sitting there with him and comforting him as he curled in on himself and finally let out all of the pent up guilt and hurt and fear and all the other pent up emotions he’d been carrying inside him since this whole thing had started. And then, when he’d finally calmed down a little, Burnie had looked him straight in the eyes and said, “You need to tell them.”

He’d shaken his head at first, honestly a little terrified of what their reactions would be if he told them now, after all he’d put them through, but Barb’s hand squeezing his and Burnie’s understanding expression soothed him a little as he battled down the urge to stop talking and flee the room like the coward he’d apparently become recently. “What if they hate me?”

“You know I’ve heard you say a lot of dumb things since you’ve started working for Roosterteeth Gavin but this is definitely the dumbest. They don’t hate you idiot, they never have, why do you think they’ve been so bothered by all of this?”

“Because I’ve been messing up the Let’s Plays an-”

“That’s never been the reason, we all know it and I think, somewhere deep down, you know it too.”

“You’ve got a bad habit of running away from your emotions Gav, especially romantic ones… why not stopping running for once and let yourself be happy instead?”

“At the very least, talk to Ray. He deserves to know why you’ve been acting like this. You know, he’s pretty sure he did something to offend you somewhere along the line and that’s why he lashed out before. Because he’s scared of losing you. They all are. Why do you think they’re walking on eggshells in that office right now? It’s because they give a damn dumbass.”

Gavin hesitated for a moment before offering the pair of them a shaky nod, “Okay… I’ll talk to him. Probably do owe the lad an explanation by this point.”

“Good… now, you have the rest of the day off. And tomorrow you come in and you corner Ray and get this sorted, we clear?” Another shaky nod, “Good now go home and relax dumbass, watch some crappy tv, play some halo, rethink some of your crappy life choices. Barb and I can handle the vines this week.”

“...Thanks Burnie, thanks Barb.”

“No problem Gav.”

\----

Ray had looked a little annoyed, but mostly scared, when Gavin had cornered him in the break room that morning. He could see the younger man’s eyes dart about, looking for an escape route, before he finally seemed to accept his ‘fate’ as he waited for the Brit to say whatever it was he had to say.

“I’m a bloody idiot.”

“Nice to know we agree on something there.” But there hadn’t been any heat behind the man’s words and the fear was still there in his eyes if Gavin really looked for it and maybe Burnie had been right when he’d said that Ray was just as scared to lose him as Gavin was to lose any of them (especially now when he’d thought he had for a little while there).

“I started drinking extra bevs to cope with something but… somewhere along the line it got out of hand and I only realized that really when it was already too late… and I never even considered how much I might be hurting other people with my actions and I just… I’m really sorry X-Ray.”

“Why did you do it? What were you coping with?”

“Remember that peggle game night we did a little while back?” The man nodded, “I kind of had… a revelation I guess.”

“What kind of revelation?”

“...I’m in love with you. You and Geoff and Michael and Jack and Ryan. I’m in love with all five of you and that was the night I started to realize how bloody screwed I was.”

There was a long pause as Ray seemed to process the Brit’s words and Gavin closely examined a patch of floor that was suddenly fascinating and then… suddenly Ray was in his arms and calling him an idiot and Gavin was nodding (before remembering that Ray couldn’t actually see that right now) and murmuring apologies into his shoulder as the pair of them stood there hugging each other (perhaps a little too tightly but no one was about to call them out on it and frankly if they did? Gavin didn’t care). And then Ray had pulled back, his expression suddenly serious as he’d asked Gavin if he was sober right now.

“Yeah… I’ve kind of been sober ever since we had that fight Ray.” Something in the man’s eyes softened at that and Gavin was just about to ask him why he’d asked when suddenly his lips were a little preoccupied as Ray’s met his and oh…

“If you’re wondering why I asked? It’s because I didn’t want our first kiss to be some drunken mistake you didn’t remember in the morning… because I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you too, idiot.”

And suddenly Gavin had been beaming and half throwing himself into Ray’s arms and he could hear the man’s laughter ringing in his ears, that genuine soft laugh that Gavin hadn’t heard in weeks now and suddenly it was almost as if the fighting and the reasons for it had never happened because Ray was in his arms and, right now, that was all that mattered.

\----

It’d taken Gavin another week to telling the rest of his boys what’d he’d told Ray. And when he had, it’d ended up being a mess of mumbled words and wild flailing gestures as the nerves (that’d made him want to run away or reach for the nearest bev in the past) got to him a little. Ray’s presence was a reassuring warmth at his side though and it anchored hims as he, eventually, managed to stumble his way through his confession. Then there’d been a moment of silence as the men in front of him had registered his words and then…

“You’re completely stone cold sober right now saying this?”

“Yeah.”

“Planning to stay that way?”

“Definitely.”

“Good.” And then Geoff’s lips had been on his, a little more desperate than Ray’s had been, but just as perfect as the lad’s… and then he was being pulled away from Geoff and Michael’s lips were on his, warm and possessive like he’d always imagined they’d be… And then Michael’s lips were gone as Jack’s replaced them, the kiss he gave him as soft and sweet as the man bestowing it... and then finally Ryan had taken his turn, his kiss a little more playful than the others had been and he’d ended up letting out a frustrated whine when the man had hovered over his lips for a little too long before (finally) closing the distance between them, much to the amusement of the other men in the room as they’d watched them.

And then after that his boys had started kissing each other, and Gavin had barely had the time to register how bloody hot that was before Geoff’s lips were back on his, the gent’s hands beginning to wander south and… well, things had escalated pretty quickly after that...

And afterwards, as he’d laid there in the afterglow, he couldn’t help but muse about how he’d been so bloody dumb to run from this all this time. Because everything he’d ever wanted was right here and sure he hadn’t planned to fall in love with these men and yeah, it still kind of scared him to think that he’d already given over so much of himself to these men before they’d even embarked on having a real relationship together but... it was a good kind of fear. An excited sort of nervousness that spoke of potential and a whole lot of other good things to come... provided he didn’t mess things up again. But Gavin didn’t plan to.

Because after tonight, he was never running away from his boys again.


End file.
